Strawberries, Hairpins, and Wands
by NekoHoshi1
Summary: After a chance encounter with the headmaster of a certain magical school, Ichigo and Orihime find themselves attending Hogwarts School of Wizardry and joining Harry as he begins his third year. Set shortly after the winter war. No power-loss. Slight IchiHime with more to come in future sequels.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A Magical Encounter

It was the evening of July 31st in Karakura Town. A golden glow was just beginning to appear and bathe the town's inhabitants in its gentle warmth, a welcome trade for the preceding day's blazing heat. Shops were closing down for the night, and an auburn-haired girl was heading home after a long day of work. The bag of unsold bread her boss had allowed her to keep for all of her hard work was clutched firmly in her hands. She sang softly to herself as she strolled down the sidewalk, body swaying along with the tune.

A gentle breeze tossed at her vibrant hair as Inoue Orihime lost herself in one of her eccentric daydreams. Her friends always lectured her about this. They worried constantly that she would end up running into a pole or even walking out in the middle of traffic. Past events had only proved such fears to be well founded, seeing as her hollow-fied brother once actually had to pull her out of the way of a speeding car as she crossed the street to buy a drink from the convenience store. Even so, she could take care of herself. Her senses were greatly above average as far as any other human was concerned. When hollows appeared, her head was the first to turn.

And turn it did as a mighty roar suddenly rattled her from her fantasies.

Without a second thought, Orihime began to run in the direction of the dark reiatsu. She soon found herself on the outskirts of town, the crater left by the arrival of the two espada the previous September just visible in the distance. Shaking her head vigorously to prevent herself from stirring up an unnecessary trip down memory lane and fixing her gaze ahead of her, the girl could see the winged hollow looming above an old man, who appeared to be staring right back up at it.

Could he see it?

A fair amount of humans were able to sense an ominous presence whenever hollows were near, but very few could actually see the beasts…

But there was no time to ask questions just yet. The monster was already rearing back, preparing to strike. Plastering a determined look on her face, Orihime tapped the hairpins that kept her bright locks out of her face and shouted, "Santen-kesshun!" At once, a flash of golden light burst from the pins and formed a shield in front of the man, who turned at the sound of her cry and eyed her questioningly over his half-moon spectacles.

Confident now that her barrier was positioned safely between the hollow and its would-be victim, the girl drew in a deep breath to summon Tsubaki and finish the job. Before the first syllable had passed her lips, however, a familiar shock of orange leapt down from over the trees and sliced the beast in two. The remains of the hollow quickly dissipated and Orihime called back her powers as Kurosaki Ichigo touched down between his friend and the stranger.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime greeted as her cheeks flushed a light pink.

"Yo, Inoue." The boy replied as he secured Zangetsu to his back with a fluid movement of his arm. He swept his chocolate eyes over the girl before him, checking for injuries. Logic told him that he had arrived mere seconds after she had, that she wasn't even the hollow's target to begin with, but the ever-present need to assure himself of her safety won over any form of reasoning.

All too aware of his inspection, the auburn-haired girl blushed deeper and hurriedly interjected, "You didn't have come all the way out here to do that. I could've taken care of this one for you."

But the shinigami substitute simply waved off her protests with his usual scowl as he turned to face the old man, who was watching their exchange with a fascinated twinkle in his eye. Keeping Orihime slightly behind him, Ichigo called out, "Oi, jii-san! Can you see me?"

The man smiled at the boy's inquiry, and answered in perfect Japanese, "I can. Should I not be able to?" With a small chuckle, he started forward to close a bit of the gap between himself and the teenagers. Now that the hollow no longer demanded their full attention, the two could clearly see that the old man was a foreigner. He wore strange clothing, a long robe of vibrant purple that looked altogether too hot for the season. His long, silver beard rivaled that of the leader of the thirteen court guard squads of the Soul Society, though the expression he wore appeared much friendlier than Yamamoto's ever did. As he approached, Ichigo and Orihime both took notice of the long, thin piece of wood he held in his right hand.

Once the man had come to a stop just a few short yards away from the teenagers, Ichigo ran a hand through his hair in thought and responded, "It's not that you shouldn't… more that not many can, I guess."

At that, Orihime stepped out from behind her friend and asked, "Excuse me sir, but where are you from? Are you friends with Urahara-san?"

Chuckling again, the man answered, "Of course. I do look quite out of place, don't I? I am Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But no, I don't recall ever meeting anyone of that particular name. Is he, by any chance, a wizard?"

"Wizard? What d'you mean by that?" Cocking an eyebrow, Ichigo exchanged a confused look with his auburn-haired friend.

The old man regarded the boy's reaction for a moment, before replying, "I see. Then am I correct in assuming that both you and the young lady are Muggles?"

"What's a Muggle?"

"A Muggle is a person who has no magical abilities."

Taken-aback, the teenagers pondered this information for a bit. Could their abilities be considered magical? Shinigami could use kido (though Ichigo had never really attempted to learn the art himself). That was a type of magic, wasn't it? What about Orihime's power of rejection? Was that magic? Somehow neither case seemed to fit.

"Well," Orihime said, breaking the silence that had fallen over the group, "I'm not sure Kurosaki-kun and I could be considered _Muggles_, but I wouldn't call us wizards either."

Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully. "That shield you summoned certainly didn't appear to be like any spell I've ever seen, and I have encountered a fair share if I do say so myself, miss-?"

"Oh! Inoue Orihime, sir." The girl gave a hurried bow, a little embarrassed at having forgotten her manners. The wizard returned her bow with one of his own, then turned expectantly to the boy next to her.

"Uh- Kurosaki… Ichigo." The shinigami substitute said with a short nod, which was also returned with a bow from the old man.

Eyes twinkling in amusement, Dumbledore took a step forward, spread his arms in a wide, welcoming gesture, and declared, "And now that we are all properly introduced, why don't we find a more comfortable place to chat? There are a couple matters I would like to discuss with the two of you."

* * *

To say that Kurosaki Ichigo was perplexed by the situation at hand would be the understatement of the year. He found himself accompanying both Orihime and the old man the two had just saved from a hollow back to the girl's apartment complex. After much deliberation, the healer had finally convinced him to let her provide the site of their talk. Then again, she hadn't so much convinced him as rather melted his steel resolve to deny her request. Just one look at her pleading, puppy-dog eyes was all it had taken for him to crack, too.

He sighed deeply as he watched his friend chatter excitedly with the man. The girl really was too trusting. And all Ichigo could do about it was to keep one eye glued to her at all times. Two would be better.

Finally arriving at their destination, Orihime led the two men up to her unit. She unlocked the door and beckoned them to follow as she skipped inside gracefully. Ichigo let Dumbledore in ahead of him with a slight nod. He watched as the old man set Orihime's bag of bread down where she directed and preceded to take a seat at the low table in the middle of the room. The orange-haired boy would've offered to take the bag instead, but, seeing as he was still in his shinigami form, that would've only caused trouble. An image of the bag floating mid-air behind his companions as they made their way down the street conjured itself into his mind, and he scowled at the thought. Maybe that could qualify for the old man's so-called magic.

Orihime was busy bustling around her kitchen making tea for her guests, so Ichigo took the opportunity to look around her living room. The yellow-orange walls and hard wood floor covered mostly by a large green rug felt warm and inviting. He noticed a familiar face in the form of a bear that sat on a cabinet above a set of drawers. Resting next to the cabinet, the girl's dear brother, Inoue Sora, smiled at him from his memorial photograph. It was cozy, a realization that caught him by surprise. The last time he had been in the apartment, the tiny captain of the tenth division and his vice captain had taken up an entire wall with their outrageous communication device. There had been no light save for the grating glow of the screen, and it seemed to sap all of the life out of the place.

_No. The machine wasn't the cause…_

"Kurosaki-kun, you can sit down if you'd like."

The healer's soft voice snapped the boy back to the present. He glanced around to find her already seated next to Dumbledore, a concerned look in her eyes, and Ichigo knew she had probably felt his reiatsu darkening as he lost himself to memories he'd tried his hardest to suppress for over half a year. He shot her an apologetic look and quickly sat, taking a sip of the tea she set in front of him and reaching for a piece of bread.

Dumbledore observed the boy carefully over his own steaming cup, before clearing his throat and beginning, "Now then, the first question I have is what that wonderful ability was that Inoue-san displayed."

"Not so fast." Ichigo said before Orihime had a chance to explain. "We still don't know what your ability is. Inoue's not even going to _consider_ explaining her powers to you until we do."

The old man chuckled at the teenager's demand. It had been a long time since he'd dealt with anyone as resolute and protective of his friends as the young man sitting across from him. Even the boy currently residing at 4 Privet Drive whose birthday this particular day happened to be could use a lesson in stubbornness from the orange-headed male. "And she is quite right not to." He smiled at the girl in question, who was attempting to hide the blush that once again graced her delicate features. "It appears a demonstration is at hand. I wonder, could you tell me the name of your stuffed bear over there?"

With a curious glance at her toy, Orihime answered, "It's Enraku."

"And a splendid name it is." Dumbledore said as he pulled out the wooden stick from earlier. Pointing it towards the bear, he called, _"Accio, Enraku!"_ at which the pink toy flew across the room and into the man's free hand. Both teens' eyes grew big as they realized just what the display meant.

"You're a wizard! I mean, a _real_ wizard!" The girl squealed in delight. Ichigo just stared, thoroughly bewildered.

"That I am," the man confirmed with his warm smile.

Orihime's eyes began to sparkle as her questions poured out of her. "So that's a wand? Where did you get it? Did you have to make it yourself? Oni-chan showed me a movie once where the people had to build their own light-swords! I think they were a type of ninja. Do all wizards have long beards like yours? Can you travel to Mars whenever you want? Do you keep robots for pets? What if-"

Having had enough time to regain his bearings, Ichigo decided to speak up before his friend took them all completely off topic. "That's enough, Inoue. One question at a time." The boy's tone was stern, but an eyebrow twitched in amusement as the girl attempted to reign in her enthusiasm with a sheepish smile.

The shinigami substitute was not the only one entertained by the healer's antics. Dumbledore laughed jovially as he handed the bear back to its owner. "My, those are interesting queries! Though, I'm afraid even I do not hold all of the answers you seek. I will, however, try my very best to satisfy you with the knowledge I do possess." He then held out the stick and said, "To answer your first question, you are absolutely correct. This is a wand. All young witches and wizards purchase their wands shortly before starting school at the age of eleven."

"How many of you are there?" Orihime asked.

"Oh, quite a few. Almost every major country has its own school of wizardry, if that is any indication."

"So there's one here in Japan?"

"Yes. I've heard it's one of the finest there is."

"Earlier, you said that you're the headmaster of a wizard school, right?"

"I am. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Orihime paused in her questioning then, thoroughly impressed.

Noting her satisfaction in his answers, Dumbledore asked, "Now that you understand what I am, would you mind explaining to me a little bit about yourselves?"

The auburn-haired girl stole a glance at Ichigo, who nodded his consent, before beginning, "I suppose our powers also look a bit magical, to those who can see them at least. We're humans, but we both possess very high levels of spiritual pressure, or reiatsu. That monster you saw before is called a hollow, which is a being made completely of this energy. Hollows are malevolent spirits that eat other spiritual entities and human souls, though they tend to be drawn to people who have higher levels of reiatsu than normal. Since you could see the hollow, you must also possess a fair amount of reiatsu."

The wizard nodded in understanding and pressed, "Kurosaki-san is a spiritual entity as well, is he not?"

"I am for the time being." Ichigo said, running a hand through his orange locks in slight frustration. "Kon wasn't around, so I had to leave my body at home when I sensed the hollow."

"Kurosaki-kun is a shinigami substitute," Orihime clarified. "Shinigami are spirits who protect other spirits and humans from hollows. They also help the souls of people who die to pass on to the next world, the Soul Society."

"So shinigami are what people in the West may call grim reapers?" Dumbledore asked.

"I guess," was the only reply the substitute offered.

"And what of your abilities, Inoue-san?"

Ichigo couldn't care less about discussing his own powers with the man. Heck, it hardly even upset him if his enemies knew them inside and out. Orihime's shun shun rikka, on the other hand, were a different matter entirely. She'd been targeted for them, used, because Aizen had discovered just how powerful they were. He tensed visibly, and waited for the girl to reply.

"My power… it's kind of difficult to explain." Orihime hesitated, noticing Ichigo's apprehensive state and searching for a way to censor her response without being disrespectful to the man who had already held up his end of the exchange. "It's reiatsu-based, but unlike that of a shinigami. I have offensive and defensive abilities, as well as the power to heal both humans and spiritual beings." She left out the fact that she could probably 'heal' more than just injuries. That would be delving a little too deep into the concept behind the rikka, and, truth be told, she'd never actually put the theory to the test before.

Fascinated, Dumbledore asked, "And how does your healing ability work? Even the most skilled wizards have difficulty in that field."

"I suppose I just focus my reiatsu on the wound and help it heal that way." She responded, thinking quickly. "It's easier to do with shinigami or hollows, since they're made of reiatsu."

Ichigo mentally applauded his friend for her clever explanation. He'd always know the girl was sharp. Third in the class was certainly nothing to scoff at. The old man seemed pleased with her story as well, as he thanked the healer with a slight bow from his seated position at the table. The orange-haired substitute relaxed a bit and sipped his tea, having all but forgotten about it in his stress.

"I wonder," the wizard began, "would the two of you like to attend my school?"

The tea in Ichigo's mouth nearly found its way to Dumbledore's face at the man's words.

"Attend a school for wizards?" Orihime said in astonishment. "But don't we have to be, you know, wizards?"

"I wouldn't be at all surprised if you could be." Dumbledore replied. "In fact I'm down-right intrigued by the thought. We'd have to start you in an earlier year, of course. No sense setting you up to fail by keeping you with your age group. I trust you're both about the age of seventeen?"

"Kurosaki-kun is, and I will be in September."

Watching Orihime quickly becoming more and more excited over the notion that she could actually train to be a witch, Ichigo drained the last of his tea and set the cup back on the table.

_Shit_.

He was all ready to refuse the offer. There was no point in learning how to summon objects or pull rabbits out of hats or whatever it was they taught people to do at the old man's school. Not for him anyway. Ichigo needed nothing more than to graduate from high school, make a living, and keep his friends and family safe. He wasn't about to leave them alone for a year while he attempted to master a skill he had never had any luck with in the past (assuming magic and kido were similar to one another). He'd probably end up blowing himself up like Renji. No thanks.

But if _she_ wanted to go... what would he do?

Inoue Orihime was one of the people he had sworn to protect. Was in fact the only person he'd sworn it right to her face. If she went to Europe or wherever this school was, Tatsuki wouldn't be there to keep her company (and the boys off of her). Uryuu and Yasutora wouldn't be there to look out for her. _He_ wouldn't be there to protect her. Could he actually let her go by herself?

No. Of course not. Tatsuki would kill him. Uryuu would help.

So when the girl finally turned to him, eyes large and full of expectation, Ichigo sighed and nodded his consent. If it was possible, Orihime's eyes seemed to grow even larger with pure joy. Her auburn locks bouncing as she whipped her head back around to accept the headmaster's invitation.

_It's gonna be one hell of a year…_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Diagon Alley

"You sure this is the place?"

Orihime pulled out a piece of parchment and studied it for a moment before turning to her orange-headed companion and giving him a confident nod. "Uh huh! It says 'the Leaky Cauldron' right here!" She held the letter Dumbledore had sent the week following his invitation for them to attend his wizard school up so her friend could see for himself. Enclosed had been what looked like standard acceptance letters, book and supply lists, two plane tickets scheduled for the 22nd of August, reservations for a week and a half at the Leaky Cauldron plus a map with directions from the airport, and two train tickets for the 1st of September.

Ichigo glanced at the paper, then over to the sign on the slightly run-down building in front of them. The words read the same. He drew in a breath and ran a hand through his hair. "Then I guess we should go in," he said with little enthusiasm. He started forward and held the wooden door open for the girl, who thanked him with a bright smile as she stepped inside.

They were immediately greeted by the smell of ale and the noisy chatter of the many people crowding around the bar, tables, and corners of the pub. Nearly everyone was wearing robes similar to those Dumbledore had worn. Now certain they had the right place, the two made their way over to the first employee they could find.

"Uh… excuse me." Ichigo began in English. He had studied relentlessly over the past few weeks with Orihime's help. She had always been better at the language than him, but seeing as she was one of the highest ranked students in their year, that was true of most subjects.

The old man at the counter turned to the teenagers, took one look at their hair and attire, and his mouth split into a toothless grin. "Ah, Dumbledore told me you two were coming. Your rooms are all ready, so follow me." He led them up a wooden staircase and down a hall to a door with a brass number fourteen on it. "This'll be the young lady's room." He opened the door and let Orihime in to place her luggage next to the bed before handing her the key. "And this'll be the young man's," he said, crossing the hall and indicating the room opposite Orihime's.

One of Ichigo's eyebrows twitched slightly at the sight of the brass fifteen adorning his door, but he chose to ignore the coincidence and took the key from the employee as he unceremoniously dropped his own bag on the middle of his bed.

With that, the old man said, "Just call me if you need anything. Name's Tom." And he started back down the hall to the pub.

Orihime called her thanks after Tom and turned to Ichigo. "We should probably get some rest before we find our school supplies tomorrow," she said. "It's almost nine o'clock in the evening here, and we've had a very long day."

The shinigami substitute nodded, looking at his watch, which he had yet to set to the correct time zone. It was only about six A.M. in Japan. The nine hour difference was going to be brutal. "Right, and I've got a feeling we're gonna need as much energy as we can get trying to find our way around this place." He waved goodnight and disappeared into his room, leaving Orihime to do the same.

The auburn-haired girl yawned widely as she opened her suitcase and pulled out her nighttime necessities. She smiled tiredly but somehow as warmheartedly as ever as she carefully retrieved her brother's picture from the protective cloth she'd wrapped it in to prevent it from getting damaged during the flight and set it on the nightstand next to the bed.

"Well, we're here, Onii-chan!" Orihime told the image. "Kurosaki-kun and I are going to find our school supplies tomorrow. The papers Dumbledore-san sent us say that we can find everything in Diagon Alley, which is supposed to be close to where we're staying. It doesn't look it, though. The street we entered the Leaky Cauldron from looked like it was full of Muggle shops." She giggled to herself as she said the word she'd been taught meant 'non-magical people'. Over the break, she'd had fun not only brushing up on her English skills, but also scanning the letter from Dumbledore and picking up as much wizard lingo as she could. Her mouth turned up in a goofy smile as she remembered her best friend's reaction to her new vocabulary.

It had taking a lot of coaxing for Tatsuki to become accepting of Orihime's decision to leave Karakura Town for a school located somewhere in the United Kingdom. Not only did Orihime have to assure her that Ichigo was going to be there the entire time, but she also had to promise to write home once a week. The raven-haired martial arts champ had also dragged Ichigo off for a private conversation the first chance she'd gotten.

Orihime had tried asking what it had been about, but received little more than a pointed look from Tatsuki and a shrug from Ichigo before he'd changed the subject.

Now that she thought about it, Uryuu had also had a discussion with the shinigami substitute that had taken place out of the healer's earshot. She knew better than to ask about that particular exchange, as doing so would undoubtedly start an insult competition between her friends.

The girl sighed and was about to comment on the unconventional way the boys expressed their friendship, when a startled yell rang out from across the hall. Darting to Ichigo's door, Orihime knocked tentatively and pushed it open. She stuck her head in to see the orange-headed teen sitting on his bed as if he had fallen backwards in surprise. His eyes wide as saucers, he snapped his head around at the sound of the door's squeaking hinges.

"Th… the mirror talked!" was all he could manage.

"Of course I did," huffed the object in question. "Stroll around with hair like _that_ and people are bound to comment."

Ichigo grit his teeth. Finally over the initial shock of finding an inanimate object that could speak, he was quickly becoming irritated with the subject it chose to speak of. "It's natural, so leave me alone," he ground back.

"_Natural_," the mirror scoffed. "How in the world could an orange that bright possibly be natural?"

"Look you-"

"Aw! Kurosaki-kun is so lucky!" Orihime said with a slight whine as she made her way to the basin that sat under the mirror. Holding the sides of the sink for support, she leaned forward until her nose was mere centimeters away from the glass and began looking the object up and down with intense curiosity. "I wish my mirror could talk!"

"It does, dear," the mirror said, its tone leading Ichigo to believe it was a bit taken-aback at the girl's reaction.

Orihime quickly straightened. "Really?!" Before the mirror could answer, she whipped around and sprinted past her friend, who narrowly avoided being run over, and back into room fourteen.

Hearing the door across the hall click shut, Ichigo sighed. His scowl lightened, and the corner of his mouth turned up a bit as he imagined the healer was already talking her own mirror's ear off (figuratively speaking). He vaguely wondered if he should go remind her that they needed to get some sleep tonight.

"Polar opposites, you two."

Scowl snapping back into place, Ichigo shot his mirror a glare.

"Oh don't give me that. At least her reaction was better than yours."

"Tch, whatever."

"Better hair, too."

"I'll break you…"

* * *

The next morning, Ichigo and Orihime ate a quick breakfast in the Leaky Cauldron before consulting Dumbledore's letter to learn where they should go from there. They found nothing on actually locating Diagon Alley, so Ichigo called Tom over for help.

"Shopping today? This way." The innkeeper took the two out into the backyard of the pub and straight up to a brick wall in front of a trash bin. "Just tap the third brick from the left with your wand three times." He did so with his own wand, and the wall sprang to life. The bricks receded to form a large archway to one of the most peculiar sights the Karakura teens had ever seen. Everywhere they looked, witches and wizards were bustling about doing their shopping, robes swishing around them as they ambled down the cobblestone street. Brightly colored signs adorned buildings with twisted roofs that in all likelihood were held up by magic alone.

Tom chuckled as his guests took in the sight. "You'll be wanting to stop at Gringotts first. Shops here only take wizard money. They'll exchange yours. Just head straight down the street. Big white building, you can't miss it."

"Thank you, Tom-san. We'll do that," Orihime said with a polite bow. Tom graced the teenagers with his toothless grin and returned the girl's bow. With that, he turned back to the Leaky Cauldron and the wall closed behind him.

Gringotts was just as easy to find as Tom had said it would be. It was a tall, snowy white building with burnished bronze doors. As Ichigo and Orihime approached the wizard bank, a tiny man with extremely long fingers and feet and wearing a scarlet and gold uniform bowed them inside, where they were faced with yet another set of doors, silver this time, with a warning (or threat) in the form of a poem engraved upon them.

Ichigo scowled. He was already certain this would be his least favorite stop of the day.

He strode past the pair of tiny men as they bowed and through the second set of doors with Orihime in tow. They found themselves standing in a large marble hall. There were about a hundred of the funny little men sitting behind a long counter scribbling in ledgers, examining coins and precious stones, and seeing to customers. The number of doors leading off the hall was too high to count. Thankfully, there were plenty of little men helping people find their ways through the monstrous building.

Stepping up to the nearest available employee, Ichigo pulled out a bundle of money and set it on the counter. "We were told we could exchange this for wizard money here."

The man glanced at the boy with disinterest, but picked up the bundle with his long fingers and counted it at an expert speed. He then opened his drawer and filled a small sack with coins, which he handed to Ichigo before placing the yen in the drawer and turning his attention to Orihime. After silently exchanging the girl's money, the little man raised a bushy eyebrow at Ichigo, as if to say, _"Will that be all?"_

Now thoroughly irritated by the man/dwarf/thing's lack of professional etiquette, Ichigo stiffly asked, "How do you count this stuff?"

The employee rolled his eyes in annoyance and stated robotically, "twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, seventeen Sickles to a Galleon." And, as if that settled the matter, he turned back to his ledger.

Welcoming the queue to leave, Ichigo led Orihime out of Gringotts and back into the busy street. His anger subsided slightly as he turned to his friend, who was examining her coins with the same level of curiosity as she had his mirror.

"Which do you think is which?" she inquired, holding out a hand with a gold, a silver, and a bronze coin sitting in her palm.

Ichigo scanned the money, and then answered, "The gold ones are probably worth the most."

Apparently satisfied with his logic, the healer nodded. "Then these little bronze ones are probably Knuts." She paused. "Do you think we'll have enough?"

That he couldn't answer. He'd saved nearly all of the money he'd earned from Unagiya, the odd jobs shop that had been crazy enough to hire a punk like him, and he knew that Orihime had done her best to save her paychecks from the bakery. Ichigo didn't have to worry about paying rent or buying groceries like his friend did, though. He knew she had a distant aunt who sent financial support based on the girl's grades, but with Orihime leaving for a school with no required tuition as well as free room and board, that help was no longer needed. There was no reason to continue to pay for an empty apartment, so Orihime had broken her lease and stayed with Tatsuki for the remainder of their summer break. She had to have been able to save at least a _little_ more than usual, but was it enough for a whole year's worth of school supplies?

"Only one way to find out," Ichigo said as he nodded toward Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.

The girl smiled again, and this time she led the way into the shop. A squat, smiling witch greeted them, ushering both to the back of the room. "Hogwarts, dears?" she asked as she stood the teenagers on stools and began pulling out a couple of long black robes to be hemmed.

"Yes, mam!" Orihime replied cheerfully.

Slipping the robes over their heads, Madam Malkin called another witch over to pin Ichigo's as she worked on Orihime's. "You're the transfer students, am I right? Dumbledore told me you'd be coming."

"He did?" Ichigo asked incredulously from his stool. "Why'd the old man do that?"

"Wanted to make sure you didn't get too lost trying to find your way around this place on your own, I suspect," the woman hummed. "Also sent an advance payment for your robes."

The Karakura teens stared at each other in disbelief. "He paid for them?" Ichigo wondered aloud.

"Said you were special scholarship students from Japan. All your supplies and books have been paid for by the school." Madam Malkin paused then and eyed the two questioningly. "You mean he didn't tell you?"

Orihime crinkled her nose in thought. "Dumbledore-san told us the school was free, but I don't recall him saying anything about buying our required materials for us."

"Well then, I'd say you two lucked out." The witch finished hemming Orihime's robes and stepped back to admire her work. "That's you done, dear."

"Thank you very much!" the healer cheered as she hopped off her stool and pulled the robe off. She handed it to Madam Malkin, who placed the cloth carefully in a shopping bag and returned it to the girl. "Would you be able to tell us where we can buy a wand?" she asked as Ichigo stepped down from his stool.

"You'll need to go to Ollivanders, only shop for wands around here." Escorting the teenagers to the door, the woman pointed in the direction of Gringotts. "It's the last one down the street. Old, shabby-looking place, but don't let the appearance deceive you. He's the best wand maker there is."

Thanking the kind witch one more time, the duo set off in the direction of Ollivanders. Orihime was nearly skipping with excitement. "Wands, Kurosaki-kun! We get our very own magic wands! I wonder what goes into making them. Do you think there's a standard wand for beginners? Oh!" She turned suddenly and began walking backwards as she continued with her new theory. "What if wands are like Zanpakuto, and they have names, and you can have conversations with them like you do with Zangetsu-san?"

Amused and actually finding her thought process believable for once, Ichigo tilted his head slightly in consideration. "Maybe," he said as he grabbed the girl's shoulders just in time to stop her from backing into a wizard balancing a tall stack of boxes marked 'Quality Quidditch Supplies'. "But I think it's a bit crowded here to be walking like that. You should probably turn around."

Orihime squeaked and immediately spun back to face forward as she felt her cheeks heat up.

* * *

Madam Malkin was right. Ollivanders was definitely the last place they'd think to look for quality magic wands, but as Ichigo and Orihime entered the shop with to the tinkling of the doorbell, they could see that little else inhabited the building. Rows and rows of thin black boxes lined the shelves from floor to ceiling. The only place to sit was a spindly chair near the door.

"Well, well, well…" came a soft voice from one of the aisles of shelves. "Miss Inoue and Mr. Kurosaki, if I'm not mistaken?"

An old man appeared to stand behind a small desk littered with papers and more boxes that stood in front of the shelves. He had wide, pale eyes that shone like moons despite the dimness of the shop.

"Yeah, that's us," replied Ichigo with a touch of edginess in his voice. "Dumbledore tell you we were coming, too?"

The man's eyes glimmered with fascination as he responded, "That he did. He also took care of the cost of your wands for you, so if you'll both follow me..." He beckoned them around the desk and into one of the aisles as he reached into a pocket of his robes and pulled out a long tape measure with silver markings. "Ladies first." He focused his misty gaze on Orihime. "Which is your wand arm?"

"Um… I'm right-handed, if that's what you mean," the girl said hesitantly.

"Hold out your arm."

She did so, and Ollivander began measuring her from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit, and round her head. "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance. We use unicorn hair, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. The wand chooses the wizard. You will never get such good results with another wizard's wand."

At this point, Orihime was so enthralled by the man's spiel that she was completely oblivious to the fact that the tape measure continued taking her measurements even after Ollivander had left her and was currently flitting through the shelves, pulling out various boxes as he went. Ichigo noticed, however, and was just about to point this out to the girl when he noticed the tape measure starting to take her bust size. He quickly looked away, clearing his throat and shooting a pointed glare at the wand maker.

"That will do," the man called to the tape measure, which flew to Ichigo and began measuring his right arm.

Ollivander opened one of the boxes he had retrieved and plucked the wand from the plush lining. "Right then, Miss Inoue. Try this one. Apple wood with phoenix tail feather, nine and a half inches, springy." He handed the wand to Orihime. "Go on and give it a wave."

The girl carefully took the wand and waved it in a wide arch over her head. Nothing happened, and Ollivander plucked it from her grip and placed it right back in the box. "No, no. I think not," he said, quickly handing her another. "Ivy and dragon heartstring, thirteen and a quarter inches, brittle. Try." But no sooner had Orihime's fingers touched the wand than it too was snatched and replaced by-

"Alder with unicorn tail hair, twelve inches, supple."

This time, the Orihime felt a warm sensation as she lifted the wand and waved it. Golden sparks shot from the end and rained down over her auburn head.

"Wonderful!" Ollivander exclaimed as he took the wand and examined it. "An excellent companion for protection charms and counter curses." He put the wand back in its box, wrapped it in brown paper, and handed it back to the girl who was now grinning from ear to ear in sheer delight. "Now then, Mr. Kurosaki, let's start you off with this. Reed with phoenix tail feather, eleven inches, wavy."

Ichigo raised the wand over his head as he'd watched his friend do, and found it immediately replaced by one of maple and dragon heartstring. He tried this, then another, and another. The pile of discarded boxes grew higher and higher as the seconds ticked by, with each attempt only appearing to make the old man happier than the last.

Finally, after a good ten minutes of trial and error, a streak of silvery blue exploded from the end of the wand in the boy's hand.

"Interesting choice," Ollivander said, more to the wand than to Ichigo. "Yew and phoenix tail feather, fifteen inches, pliable. A wand specializing in dark magic and necromancy."

The substitute shinigami traded a slightly awkward look with his friend before taking the newly wrapped package containing his wand from the man. "Right… so that's it then?"

"It is," the wand maker responded, his eyes shining as he bowed them from the shop.

Outside, Ichigo released the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and sucked in a couple lung-fulls of fresh air. "Glad we only have to go through that once," he said. "Oi, Inoue. You hungry?"

"Uh-huh!" the girl sang happily. "I saw a yummy-looking ice cream shop back a little ways, before Madam Malkin's!"

The orange-headed boy sighed and scratched the back of his head. Usually, he'd try to push more suitable options for lunch, but he could really go for some chocolate ice cream right about then, so he simply smiled at the healer and said, "Lead the way."

Orihime laughed and guided her friend along the busy street to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. Setting their bags on one of the brightly colored tables in front of the shop, Ichigo agreed to wait while his friend ordered their icy treats.

"Kurosaki-kun like's chocolate, right?"

Surprised and wondering if he wasn't just a bit too predictable, the boy nodded and said, "Yeah, thanks." And he watched the girl disappear amongst the people milling around the entrance.

Ichigo took the moment to really get a feel for his surroundings for the first time that day. Across the street, a sign hanging above what looked like a bookstore read 'Flourish and Blotts'. That should probably be their next stop. To it's left, Quality Quidditch Supplies, harboring quite a large crowd, everyone pushing and shoving to see whatever it was that happened to be on display in the window. Scowling and averting his attention to his immediate left, Ichigo found the ice cream parlor to be adjacent to an Apothecary. He turned his head to see what kind of shop was on the other side of Florean Fortescue's, but found his view of the store's sign blocked by a mess of raven hair.

A young boy sat at a table just a few feet away from the shinigami substitute. He wore a pair of glasses, and his hair rivaled Ichigo's own orange locks in untidiness. Just visible through a gap in his bangs was a lightning-bolt shaped scar. The boy was scribbling away at a piece of parchment, pausing every now and then to nurse his sundae.

Feeling Ichigo's eyes on him, the boy looked up and cocked an eyebrow. "Can I help you?"

Caught, the orange-headed teen gave a tiny shrug and said, "Naw. Sorry, just curious. You a Hogwarts student?"

"Yeah… I am."

To Ichigo's surprise, the boy looked a bit taken aback. _What, like it wasn't obvious?_

The boy spoke again. "You're Muggle-born, aren't you?"

'Muggle-born'. Orihime had mentioned that word before. It meant a witch or wizard with Muggle parents. Ichigo didn't know how to respond to this question. As far as he knew, neither of his parents had ever run around brandishing wands. Of course, there was really no telling whether or not Kurosaki Isshin _couldn't_ have if he'd wanted to. He was a master of kido, after all.

But, for the sake of easy conversation, Ichigo decided to forgo that information.

"Yeah. My friend and I are both Muggle-born. We're transfer students from Japan."

The boy stood then and extended a hand in greeting. "I'm Harry. Harry Potter."

"Ichigo Kurosaki," Ichigo responded, taking Harry's hand and giving it a firm shake.

No sooner had they made this exchange then a cheerful voice rang out, "Kurosaki-kun!" The boys turn to watch Orihime skip over, a chocolate cone in one hand and mint and strawberry in the other.

"Oi, Inoue," the shinigami substitute greeted, taking his ice cream as she presented it to him. "This is Harry. He's a student at Hogwarts."

"Really?" the girl said, eyes wide with interest. "It's nice to meet you, Harry-kun! I'm Orihime Inoue."

After shaking Orihime's hand, Harry collected his papers and ice cream and took a seat at the Karakura teens' table. "What year are you two transferring into? You look like you should be sixth years at the very least."

Ichigo nodded. "We should be, but the old man wants us to start at a more beginning level since we have a lot of catching up to do." He reached over to hand Orihime a napkin as she paused the assault on her icy treat and began hitting herself in the forehead, grumbling something about brain-freeze. "Slow down, Inoue. Anyway, I think we're being put with the third years."

"Seriously?" Harry blinked. "I'm a third year."

"And you're how old?"

"Thirteen. You?"

"Seventeen." Ichigo sighed. "And Inoue'll be seventeen next week."

Harry shrugged sympathetically. "I'm sure you won't have quite as many restrictions as the rest of us. You're of legal age now, too, so you'll be able to do magic out of school. They might even let you try to Apparate by the end of term."

Not knowing what the boy meant by 'Apparate' nor particularly interested in using magic once he got back to Karakura Town, Ichigo let the subject die. The three made small talk until they finished their ice creams. The friends discovered that Harry was also staying at the Leaky Cauldron, in room eleven, and agreed to meet for breakfast the next morning.

Waving goodbye to their new friend/classmate, Ichigo and Orihime made their way across the street to Flourish and Blotts to find the books and writing supplies they would need for their classes at Hogwarts.

* * *

The days that followed found the Karakura teens exploring every inch of Diagon Alley. In the mornings, they would chat with Harry over breakfast in the Leaky Cauldron, then the tree would head to the backyard, tap the third brick from the left above the trash bin, and wait for the archway to form. Harry often accompanied them to a few of his favorite shops, particularly Quality Quidditch Supplies. (Quidditch, they learned, was the favorite wizard sport, played on broomsticks hundreds of feet in the air.) Sooner or later, Orihime would spot something through the window of some hole-in-the-wall establishment and drag Ichigo in after her. This was usually when their raven-haired friend decided it was time to go work on his homework in front of Florean Fortescue's.

Friday night soon rolled around, only three more days of vacation, and Ichigo found himself answering a knock on his door to find a very bashful Orihime.

"What's up, Inoue?" he asked, concerned over her uncharacteristic shyness.

"Kurosaki-kun…" the girl began. "I was just wondering if you'd like to go somewhere… else tomorrow. I mean, we're here in London, but the only sightseeing we've done has been in Diagon Alley."

Ichigo listened intently, wondering where else his auburn-haired friend could be interested in visiting before they left for school.

"And, I was thinking… it'd be nice to see the Globe."

The shinigami substitute stared at the girl in his doorway.

"The Globe… Theater?"

"Yeah," Orihime answered, avoiding looking him in the eye. "You admire Shakespeare a lot, don't you?"

Ichigo gulped and nodded.

"So… tomorrow then?"

"Yeah."

The girl turned to leave then, but the boy caught her arm and held her in place.

"Thanks, Inoue."

And she smiled.

And Ichigo was left staring long after she had disappeared into her room and turned off the light that peeked out from under her door.

She never ceased to amaze him.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Something Wicked

Orihime couldn't decide if Saturday morning came too quickly or too slowly. She had lain awake in her bed staring at the ceiling for nearly two hours after she'd turned out the light and tucked herself in for the night, thinking about her and her orange-headed companion's plans for the following day. She thought about how they should get to the theatre, what they should eat for lunch, what kinds of tours they should go on, whether or not they should try to catch a show, and she thought about Ichigo.

She wondered why he admired Shakespeare so much. She wondered what his favorite play was, and why it was. She wondered if he'd ever tried acting before, and if he'd been good at it. She wondered what excited him the most about seeing the theatre. She wondered what he'd been thinking when she'd proposed the visit. She wondered if he was happy to be going with her.

She wondered why he'd frozen in his doorway when she'd smiled.

It was unlike Ichigo to focus so much attention on a smile. Perhaps her shyness had worried him into thinking something was wrong, and so he had tried to read deeper into her cheerful expression to make sure it was genuine. But somehow that didn't seem right. The chocolate eyes that had captured her own in that moment were not searching, but more…

What?

What could she call them? Dazed? Stunned?

Stunned why?

Was he shocked that she knew about his affinity for Shakespeare's work? It was true that he'd never outright told her (or anyone she knew, for that matter), but it was just so obvious to the girl. Whenever their class had to review one of the bard's plays, Ichigo always seemed to light up with such a passion for the discussion. Orihime loved listening to his insightful ideas and arguments. His voice would captivate her so completely that she'd miss their teacher calling on her to give her own opinion. Shakespearean literature was the one topic that even Uryuu had to admit Ichigo was best at. And yet, Ichigo was _surprised_ that she had thought to suggest a trip to the Globe?

The girl lay attempting to solve the mystery of her friend's reaction, and before she knew it the sun was peeking through the curtains, beckoning her to awaken.

Orihime blinked and rubbed her eyes. She didn't remember falling asleep, but if the little bit of drool in the corner of her mouth and the way she had been hugging her pillow were any indication, she seemed to have slept fitfully enough. Plus, she felt rested and was ready to take on the day.

She quickly hopped out of bed and changed into a mint-green light knit blouse with sleeves that stopped just below the elbows and a long cream skirt embroidered with an oriental flower design. Satisfied with her choice of clothing, Orihime washed her face and brushed her teeth. She pulled her hair into a loose braid before securing her long bangs with her hairpins.

"Lovely, dear," her mirror said with a yawn of approval. "I'm sure he'll like that."

The girl blushed a bright pink and mumbled a "thanks". Hoping the mirror wouldn't press the subject, she turned to sit in front of her brother's picture and wish him good morning.

"We're going to see Shakespeare's Globe today, onii-chan! It's not really a globe, though. It's a theatre. We've been reading Shakespeare's plays in school, so I thought it might be nice to see where they were originally performed. That, and Kurosaki-kun really likes Shakespeare." Orihime smiled thoughtfully as she uttered the name of her orange-headed friend. She still hadn't quite figured out what had caused his perplexing response the night before, but today she resolved to make certain he enjoyed himself during their visit as much as possible. "So I'll tell you all about it when we get back, okay?"

The healer bowed to the picture and stood. She slipped on a pair of shoes, gathered up her purse, took one last look at herself in the mirror, and darted from the room.

"Do tell me what he says, dear," the mirror called after her.

* * *

"Good morning, Kurosaki-kun! Harry-kun!" the girl greeted with a wave as she entered the pub of the Leaky Cauldron to find her friends already seated at their usual side table. "You haven't been waiting long, I hope."

Ichigo turned to offer his own short wave. "'Morning, Inoue."

"Just got here," answered Harry with a smile.

Orihime gave a little sigh of relief as she sank into her chair. "That's good." Picking up the menu Ichigo passed her, she looked to her raven-haired friend. "Harry-kun, has Kurosaki-kun told you about our plans for the day yet?"

Harry nodded. "You're going to the Globe, right? That sounds great. I'm actually planning on trying to find a few of my school friends today. They usually do their shopping around this time."

"Oh! I hope you find them!" the girl said, giving the boy a thumbs-up, a habit she'd picked up from Sado Yasutora. She noticed Ichigo smile slightly at the gesture from behind the menu he was scanning. Content, Orihime quickly buried her nose in her own menu.

After the three ordered simple breakfasts consisting of eggs, toast, and fresh fruit, Harry helped the Japanese teens mark the best route to the Globe on the map Orihime had picked up from a nearby shop on the Muggle side of the Leaky Cauldron. Never having been to the theatre himself, the young wizard couldn't say for sure how long it would take them to get there, but he estimated about a half hour if they traveled by foot. Leaving the proper amount of Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts on the table, Ichigo and Orihime said good-bye to Harry and headed out the front door onto Charring Cross Road.

The shinigami substitute looked over to his auburn-headed friend in expectation. "So where to now?"

Biting her lip as she surveyed their map, Orihime replied, "Well, the Globe is on the Southbank, and right now we're in central London. So I'd say…" She traced the pen marks Harry had drawn with her finger, then looked up and pointed to the right. "This way!"

"Lead the way." Ichigo said with a nod.

They walked in silence for a while. At crossroads, the boy would raise an eyebrow and look to the girl, who would smile and point in the direction they needed to go. It wasn't until they reached the River Thames that either spoke.

"Did you… sleep well, Inoue?"

Orihime blinked and turned to study Ichigo's face. He tilted his head to the opposite side, attempting to hide the embarrassed tint to his cheeks.

"I guess so," the girl answered finally, scrunching up her brow in thought. "I actually don't remember falling asleep last night, but morning came so quickly, and I woke up in a much different position than I had been laying in before, so I must've fallen asleep at some point, ne?" She fixed her friend with a little smile. "How did Kurosaki-kun sleep?"

Ichigo ran a hand through his orange locks and let it rest at the back of his head. "…Alright."

Which meant "not very well at all". She knew it, and he knew she did. But he also knew that she wouldn't press him for details. He wondered if that was really a good thing or not. Why had he said anything to begin with?

_"After all, you're just gonna lie."_

Right.

Because of _him_.

Because _he'd _started scratching away at the back of his mind the moment he'd detached himself from his doorway the previous night.

Ichigo's inner hollow had been silent since the winter war. It hadn't attempted to devour its host or even draw any attention to itself at all for nearly ten months. In fact, the shinigami substitute had practically forgotten all about his unwanted 'roommate'. There was no explaining why it chose _now_ to rattle the bars of its cage.

The boy tried to ignore the hollow's (true but unnecessary) commentary. Orihime would notice immediately if he allowed the disruptions to get the better of him. And if there was one thing Ichigo was certain of, it was that he wanted to keep her as far away from the monster inside of him as possible. He had never spoken of the events that had taken place on the roof of Las Noches that day in October. Not to her, or Uryuu, or Yasutora, or Rukia, or Renji. He had not even talked to Shinji about the form he had taken after his apparent death.

It scared him, _terrified_ him, to know that he had been seconds away from ending the lives of his closest friends. He knew he wouldn't have stopped with Uryuu. He would have turned to Orihime next and-

He would have found Yammy slaughtering his other friends, and, after dispatching the espada, would have diced up their remains as well. The captains and vice captains would have posed no threat and joined the body count. Aizen would no longer have been such a terrifying opponent, but the victory would have been meaningless. Ichigo had been so close to destroying everyone and everything that mattered to him.

And _that_ was the way his so-called 'instinct' had chosen to answer Orihime's cry for help.

"Kurosaki-kun?"

The question snapped the boy out of his thoughts. He turned to see the girl eyeing him with a concerned look on her face. Feeling guilty that he had been doing exactly what he had promised himself he wouldn't, Ichigo softened his scowl and tilted his head apologetically. "Sorry, Inoue. I guess I kind of got lost in thought."

The healer shook her head and hurriedly waved both hands. "No, that's fine! I just wanted to let you know that we're almost there."

Ichigo saw that she was right. The large, white building that he had only ever seen in pictures and read about in books was just visible in the distance. With every step he took, Ichigo felt himself becoming more and more aware of his surroundings. He was in London. He was going to see the Globe Theatre, _William Shakespeare's_ Globe Theatre. There was absolutely no way he was going to allow his inner demon to ruin this day for himself or for Orihime. Pushing all thoughts of hollows and Hueco Mundo from his mind, Ichigo smiled at his auburn-haired friend. He tilted his head and jerked it slightly in the direction of the theatre, before taking off in a mad run. He heard Orihime's melodious laughter ring out as she sprinted to catch up.

In no time at all, the boy reached the entrance to the building. He immediately spun to watch his friend race towards him, braid flying behind her the entire way. She collapsed in a fit of giggles as she finally reached her destination.

Ichigo waited for her to catch her breath and collect herself, then shot her a pointed grin. "I win."

He was rewarded with yet another round of laughter.

"Kurosaki-kun may have won, but I had a handicap!" Orihime proudly indicated her purse and the map she'd been carrying and added with a mischievous smile of her own, "So we have to have a rematch."

This time it was Ichigo's turn to laugh as he replied, "I guess we do."

Satisfied with his answer, the girl nodded and began to fix her outfit. She removed her hairpins, which had come loose during the race. Suddenly, she felt a hand atop her head. Rough fingers pulled back the long bangs and held them in place so she could secure them again. Orihime felt her cheeks heat at the touch. Fumbling to readjust the pins, she peeked up from under Ichigo's hand to find an absent-minded smile slanting his lips.

But just as soon as the smile had appeared, it vanished. Ichigo seemed to realize what he'd been doing when he caught a glimpse of the girl's questioning eyes. He quickly removed his hand from the auburn locks and hid it in his own mess of orange.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "I was just thinking… It was a good idea to pull your hair back like that."

"Oh?" Orihime asked, hardly believing the words that had come out of the boy's mouth. "You… you think so?" She paused before breaking into an explanation. "I thought a braid would help keep it manageable today, since we had a bit of a walk and all. And it looks like it paid off, ne? It didn't get messed up at all from our race. Well, my bangs did, but they're really easy to fix. It must be weird though, because Kurosaki-kun's probably never seen my hair like this."

"Yeah, but it looks nice." Ichigo said, scratching the bridge of his nose in embarrassment as he searched for a way to change the subject. Luckily, he didn't have to look far. He pointed a thumb over his shoulder towards the building behind him. "So, should we go in?"

Blinking, the healer realized that they were still standing in front of the entrance to the theatre. "Right!" she gasped, quickly gathering her belongings and looking to her orange-headed friend. "I'm ready!" With that, the two turned and made their way up the steps and through the doors.

* * *

They decided to walk through the museum first. Orihime had initially been eyeing the gift shop, intent upon finding souvenirs to send home to all of their friends, but Ichigo talked her out of it by pointing out that she would have to lug the presents around with her for the rest of the day. So they soon found themselves roaming the exhibit halls filled with gorgeous costumes and props, magnificent set pieces, photographs of old performances, and even a variety of original scripts. The Karakura teens spent a good two hours perusing the museum's incredible collection before deciding to grab a bite to eat in the Swan, a restaurant attached to the theatre.

After their light lunch, the two took a tour of the Globe itself, during which they discovered that their guide was actually one of the actors performing in the show taking place that evening. In fact, he played the part of the protagonist, Prospero. Orihime had never read _The Tempest_ before, since the play was not one of their required readings in school, but Ichigo assured her that, in his opinion, it was among the best of Shakespeare's works. That was all it took for the girl to set her heart on attending the performance. As soon and the tour had ended, they found themselves in the box office, purchasing tickets.

Clutching her ticket in excitement, Orihime turned to Ichigo and asked, "What would you like to do now?"

The shinigami substitute glanced at his own ticket and replied, "Well, the show doesn't start 'til seven, so we could hit the gift shop now like you wanted."

"Okay, let's do that!" the girl agreed with a vigorous nod. Holding up her free hand, she began to count off the names of all the people she intended to buy gifts for. "I need to find souvenirs for Tatsuki-chan and Sado-kun and Ishida-kun and Kuchiki-san and Abarai-kun." She looked to her orange-headed friend as she ran out of fingers. "What about you, Kurosaki-kun? Are you going to get presents for your family as well?"

The boy nodded. "I thought I could try to find Yuzu something, at least. Karin's not really into theatre or literature, but Yuzu likes to make outfits for her stuffed animals, so I thought I'd try to find her a costume book or something."

"That sounds perfect for Yuzu-chan!" Orihime beamed. "Kurosaki-kun is so good at thinking of gifts for people!"

"Not really," Ichigo said, scratching the back of his head. "Yuzu's just always been easy to find presents for."

"And what about your father?"

Grimacing at the question, the boy nearly groaned, "Only as long as it's something he can't try to torture us with."

The girl laughed and then said, "I'm still not sure what I should get for anyone, so I think I'll start browsing and see if I find something that catches my eye."

"Okay, we'll just meet in the lobby when we're done."

Orihime waved her friend off with a smile and quickly set to work searching for the perfect presents to send her friends, which was harder to do than she'd first imagined. Tatsuki and Yasutora were much less interested in Shakespeare than either Ichigo or Uryuu, and Orihime had to wonder if Rukia and Renji even knew who the man was. In the end, the girl decided to find her shinigami friends' gifts in back in Diagon Alley. There was still a couple of days left before the start of term, after all. So she picked up a few small trinkets and key chains to send along with whatever the real gifts were to be.

She did find one present in the shop – Ichigo's. The moment she'd laid eyes on the object, she knew she had to buy it for her friend. He would love it. She hoped he would, at least.

Standing in line at the register, the girl's face lifted automatically into a warm smile as she reflected on everything they had done that day. She'd never seen Ichigo enjoying himself so completely for such a long period of time before. There had hardly been a moment when his face wasn't relaxed into a lopsided grin. Orihime wanted so much for the day to never end, for it to just continue on forever.

Of course, she had to remind herself that a wish like that would cause quite a bit of trouble. Many people couldn't sleep with the sun blazing through their windows twenty-four seven. They would still be human, after all, and would get tired as regularly as they always did. And for the day to literally go on forever, time would essentially have to freeze. If that happened, they would never get to see _The Tempest_, because it would never be seven o'clock. So, Orihime decided, it just wasn't practical to hope for an endless day. It was much better to simply make the most of the time they did have.

Pleased with her conclusion, the healer gave herself a tiny fist pump and directed her focus back to the front of the line to find that it was her turn to pay. While the cashier rang up her items, the girl noticed a small rack of disposable cameras sitting on the counter to her right. She reached over and plucked a package from its shelf, adding it to her purchase. With that, Orihime paid and sprinted out to find Ichigo in the lobby.

The orange-headed shinigami substitute sat on a bench near the main entrance of the theatre. While he waited for his friend to finish her shopping, he decided to entertain himself by people watching. A small group of young adults was gathered near the box office, chattering excitedly about auditions for the upcoming season. Ichigo thought he heard one of them mention _Much Ado About Nothing_, and he made a mental note to look up when it would be playing, in the case that he and Orihime would be returning to Hogwarts the following year.

Before long, a familiar auburn head appeared through the crowd. Ichigo stood and waved his friend over, smiling at her as she hurriedly set her bags down on the bench and fished out a small package.

"Find gifts for everyone you wanted to?" the boy asked, amused by the girl's eagerness to show him whatever it was she had bought.

"Not everyone, but I decided I'd probably have better luck in Diagon Alley. I did find some adorable button pins and key chains to send them, though, and look!" She held up the package so he could see it better. "I bought a disposable camera so we can re-visit the Globe whenever we want, _or_ we'll at least have visual proof that we were here!"

Ichigo chuckled at the healer's logic. "Great idea."

"What about you, Kurosaki-kun? Could you find the book you wanted for Yuzu-chan?"

"Yeah," he replied, holding up his shopping bag. "Even found something for oya-jii."

Orihime clapped her hands together in delight. "That's wonderful! What did you get?"

Shrugging, the boy reached into the bag and pulled out a mug decorated with bright, colorful letters reading 'better a witty fool than a foolish wit'. "It's from _Twelfth Night_," he said. "I figured it'd be something he'd like, but actually useful."

"And the quote fits Kurosaki-san perfectly."

Ichigo paused for a moment to study the knowing look in the girl's deep amber eyes, before drawing in a shallow breath and asking, "You think so?"

She replied with a happy nod. "Absolutely, and Kurosaki-kun does, too!"

He smiled. "C'mon, let's grab some dinner before the show."

* * *

"Do you want a picture next to the stage?"

Ichigo glanced over to his auburn-haired friend, who was peering up at him from behind her camera. The two stood in the pit of the theatre, waiting for the show to begin. For the past ten minutes, the boy had been watching her weave through the crowds of people, trying to capture the building from every viewpoint imaginable. A couple of times, he'd had to talk her out of climbing the columns that supported the balconies as she sought the perfect angle. "Naw, I'm not really into getting pictures of just myself, but I could take one of you if you want."

The tiny pout that creased the girl's brow and wrinkled her nose at his answer made Ichigo suppress a chuckle.

"But we've already got plenty of pictures with just me. It's Kurosaki-kun's turn. I'm sure your family would like to see them," Orihime said.

With a sigh, the boy made his way to an open space near the edge of the stage, beckoning the girl to follow. He waited in an awkward silence as she prepared the camera. Before she could take the picture, however, a voice to Ichigo's right interrupted, "Would you like a picture with the both of you together?"

He turned to see a middle-aged woman with long blonde hair pulled back into a loose bun approaching Orihime with an outstretched hand.

"Oh, that would be wonderful! Thank you!" the healer responded. Looking to Ichigo, she asked, "Is that alright, Kurosaki-kun?"

"Yeah, sounds great," he replied, relieved.

Orihime handed the camera over to the woman and practically skipped to the boy's side. She smiled up at him for a second, then twirled around to pose for the shot.

Peering through the camera lens, the woman motioned for Ichigo to scoot closer to his friend. "Come on, you two, get comfy. We can't have only half of you in the shot now, can we?"

The boy felt the heat rise in his cheeks as he did as the woman told him, if only to prevent her from making another comment about 'getting comfy'. But he was being silly. This was Orihime. She was his friend, his nakama. It wasn't as if he'd never been close to her before. Why, back after his fight with Grimmjow, he'd carried her off that tower. Ichigo relaxed a bit and allowed a small smile to break through his scowl. This was nothing.

But just as the camera flashed, he suddenly felt a sharp tug to the back of his mind.

"What the-"

The shinigami substitute slapped a hand to his face, keeling over slightly in an attempt to both regain control and hide the inky blackness he knew had to be seeping into his eyes.

"Kurosaki-kun?"

_Damn_.

She knew.

She had to know. No one was better at sensing the suffocating darkness of his monster's reiatsu than Orihime. And now he'd made her worry again.

"Are you alright?" the blonde woman asked. She hurried over to the teens, trying to see what she could do to help.

Ichigo straightened, feeling the hollow's presence recede back to the depths of his inner world. "Yeah, fine," he grunted.

"Would you like to try it again? I don't think that shot will turn out."

"No," he said, too quickly. "No, that's alright."

Orihime took the camera back and thanked the woman again, assuring her that Ichigo was fine. When the woman had disappeared back into the crowd, the two Karakura teens stood in silence. Neither wanted to bring up the topic that was currently weighing heavy on both of their minds.

_The Tempest_ began, but Ichigo didn't hear a word. He couldn't focus on anything other than the fact that he had almost done it again. He had almost lost control and allowed the beast inside of him to hurt a person he cared about.

But why _now_?

Why would his hollow choose this moment to try to seize control? The element of surprise? Would he once again have to spend every waking moment suppressing his so-called 'horse'? What did it benefit the beast to defeat him now? He wasn't in his shinigami form. He wasn't in the presence of other shinigami or hollows. He wasn't even beating the hell out of anybody.

He was with Orihime.

That night, back in his room in the Leaky Cauldron, Ichigo lay, still attempting to work out an explanation for his hollow's behavior. As he finally allowed sleep to overtake him, he could almost hear the voice, a sickening distortion of his own, croon.

_"Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown."_


End file.
